Readymix concrete suppliers will need to innovate if they are to remain relevant in a fast changing industry.

New products and techniques are constantly pushing the boundaries of construction. Top concrete and cement consultant George Evans of PPC, addressed delegates at this year’s Southern Africa Readymix Association conference held in Broederstroom recently, with words of advice for readymix manufacturers to get more involved with on-site requirements of their customers and to innovate and adapt their offering to meet ever-changing demands.

“In future, you will need to look at the overall fitness for purpose of the concrete you deliver to site and try understand the other requirements that your customers might have. The world is becoming more technical and it is time to look at changing requirements with engineers, in order to drive the kind of change that is required to transform our construction industry.

“On the Green Star rating, for example, 13% of the construction is judged on materials, of which 8% is down to innovation alone. That is proof that readymix companies can help developers to get better star ratings – but only if they are prepared to innovate,” Evans said.

Designer mixing

He added that in order to meet future expectations, readymix manufacturers need to begin moving towards supplying custom-made mixes that meet specifications ranging from exact composition and aggregate sizes to strength tests for the kind of structure to be built. For example floor, retaining wall, pool etc, including vertical and horizontal strength and other special requirements.

“Remember there are about 150 types of cement and equally many aggregates that can be used to give concrete unique characteristics. Stones and sand are also vital components and we can even use previously used waste products like crusher sand as long as they comply with requirements,” Evans advised.

He continued: “To make ‘green concrete’ we can also look at extenders, bearing in mind that extenders should never be used on top of others in manufacturing readymix. Most importantly, we need to carefully understand what the customer needs in terms of strength, price and green building.”

Innovating together

“This will require closer working relationships between customers, engineers and the readymix supplier. Depending on the application, either the supplier or the user will need to assume overall responsibility for the concrete – and depending on applications – it is best to find out who that will be,” Evans continued.

He said new test methods had been developed to determine aggregate suitability, as well as new tests relating to fresh, hard, cured concrete etc. These could be used to ensure quality of the product before, during and after delivery to clients.

Quality and safety

Evans concluded that all innovation should take place with the driving factors being quality and safety of the product and project in mind. “Poor quality is defined by an industry. Good quality is a measure of excellence or a state of being free from contaminants, defects, deficiencies and variations. Quality is meeting the customer’s needs in a way that exceeds the customer’s specification and is best defined when the customer returns and the product doesn’t.”